Man accused of attempting to disarm police officer after Family Dollar break in

June 26, 2013

MARTINSBURG - A man who tripped a burglar alarm inside a closed Family Dollar store in Martinsburg Monday night was arrested following a foot pursuit and struggle with police, during which he was accused of trying to grab an officer's gun.

Christopher Shane Lewis, 24, of Garden Drive, was later arraigned on charges of breaking and entering and attempting to disarm a police officer.

According to court records, at about 9:37 p.m. Monday, Martinsburg City Police Patrolman R.S. Fritz responded to the Family Dollar store located at 1319 Old Courthouse Square after a burglar alarm was activated. The alarm company indicated the alarm was showing motion in the back of the store.

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Christopher Shane Lewis

Fritz found the back doors of the store locked. Patrolman First Class L.D. Ruffner checked the front of the store and initially found that everything appeared secure, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a man, later identified as Lewis, moving inside, records show.

Ruffner tapped on the window with his flashlight to get the man's attention, but Lewis ducked down and started moving swiftly through the back of the store. An employee arrived at the store and told police that no one should be inside. The key holder unlocked the door and Ruffner and another officer entered, announcing that they were police. The alarm sounded again and Lewis, who was wearing all black, came running out of the back door in front of Fritz's patrol car, records show.

Fritz ordered Lewis to get on the ground, but the man kept running. Fritz chased after Lewis and caught up to him about 30 yards away, taking him to the ground. Lewis began fighting with the officer and allegedly grabbed and pulled at Fritz's gun belt, records show.

The officer, who felt Lewis was attempting to disarm him, pushed the man away and Lewis began to run towards the woods. Fritz pulled his Taser out and fired its darts into Lewis' back, but the non-lethal weapon had no effect on Lewis. Fritz attempted to run beside Lewis to "drive stun" him, but the Taser still didn't have any effect on the fleeing suspect, records show.

Lewis continued to run from the officer until they reached the nearby woodline. Fritz tackled Lewis again, and the man allegedly attempted to reach back and pull on the officer's gun. Fritz, fearful for his life, grabbed Lewis around his neck to try to gain control of him. Lewis allegedly grabbed a magazine from the officer's gun belt and swung it at Fritz. The officer was able to knock the magazine out of Lewis' hand, but the man allegedly continued to fight with Fritz, elbowed the officer and grabbed at him. Fritz's glasses and name tag were ripped off during the struggle, records show.

Patrolman Craig Richmond and Ruffner arrived at the scene and helped Fritz place Lewis under arrest. Officers from the Martinsburg City Police Department, Berkeley County Sheriff's Department and West Virginia State Police got Lewis up and patted him down. A pocket knife was found in his pocket. Officers removed the Taser probes from Lewis' back, and he was transported back to the Martinsburg City Police Department for processing, records show.

Police later obtained a written statement from the key holder for the Family Dollar store. He said that he and his employees shut the lights off in the store at about 8:50 p.m. and walked around the store to make sure no one was inside before closing. He said they also yelled "is there anyone in here?," but no one answered. He and his employees proceeded to performed other closing duties before leaving the store at about 9:15 p.m., records show.

He was on his way home when he got the call about the burglar alarm. The key holder arrived back at the store at about 9:40 p.m., at which time police told him there was someone inside the store, records show.

As of Tuesday, Lewis was being held at Eastern Regional Jail on $100,000 bail.